Hair-pin



"(No Model.)

H. A. BELDEN.

HAIR PIN. No. 565,255. Patented Aug. 4, 1896.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY A. BELDEN, oE BROOKLYN, NEw YoRK.

HAIR-PIN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 565,255, dated August 4, 1896,

Application filed Tune 18, 1896.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY A. BELDEN, of the city of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Hair-Pins; and I declare that the following specification, taken in connection with the drawings annexed to and forming part of the same, furnishes a full and clear description thereof, sufficient to enable those skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and operate the same.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved pin when closed; Fig. 2, a plan view of the pin while open for insertion; Fig. 3, a side view, and Fig. 4 a view in perspective.

The object of my invention is to provide a hair-pin which, without the aid of flattened ends or points, will remain in position when placed in the hair, and not only hold down the hair at the head end of the pin, but also retain its place within the hair by the hold exerted by the prongs closing in upon the latter.

Prior to my invention, so-callec safety hair-pins had been made with converging points, and also hair-pins with double springs at the head end in the same plane as the prongs, and pins with convolutions to engage the hair or lap over it by being turned around. Pins made in that manner are often difficult to insert, and when once inserted, if they are turned so as to hold, are apt to become entangled in the hair and often require much longer time to remove than to insert. If made with straight prongs, the hold which they obtain on the hair is too slight to accomplish the object for which they are constructed.

In my improvement I first construct the hair-pin in the ordinary manner from steel wire, but tempered so as to have a good spring in the curve at the head of the pin and a firmness in the prongs.

The prongs a a are each curved toward the other so as to meet at their points I) I). They are also curved upward in their common plane. The head of the pin where the prongs join each other is then bent over toward the concave side of the prongs a a, so that the spring-curve c on the head of the pin as originally formed will come within a short distance of and stand approximately parallel with the body of the prongs a a, thus affording two projections or levers d cl beyond this Serial No. 596,026. (No model.)

curve, which, when approximated by the pressure of the fingers, will cause the points I) b of the pin to open for insertion in the hair, and the release of which will allow the spring at c to close the prongs a a in the hair. The two hooks in the body of the pin, on the inside of the levers 61 (Z, caused by bending over this head, afford a substantial fastening to keep the outer hair down in place, while the peculiar form of the prongs a a (which curve toward each other, the two together curving to conform somewhat to the convexity of the head) affords a hold upon the hair and tends by pressure to draw the pin toward the head rather than to let it slip in a contrary direction.

I am aware that so-called hair-pins and safety-pins for other purposes have been made with prongs which spring apart and are held together by a hook or loop at the end of the prongs, and also pins with straight prongs springing together and having in the same plane angular or straight arms to open the pin for insertion. features; but

What I do claim as my invention, and de- I sire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A hair-pin constructed of a single piece of wire consisting of two prongs a a curving in their common plane and meeting in a curved spring-head c which is bent back over and approximately parallel with the concave side of said prongs so as to form a hook to hold the outer hair in place, thus affording two levers or arms d d projecting beyond the hook c and by which the prongs may be separated, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The herein-described hair-pin, the same consisting of a single piece of wire comprising two prongs a a curving toward each otherto hold the pin in the hair and also curving in a common plane and meeting in a curved spring-head c bent back over the concave side of said prongs to form a hook to hold the outer hair in position, thus providing two arms or levers d d projecting beyond the hook and by approximating which the other ends of the prongs may be separated, as and for the purpose set forth.

HENRY A. BELDEN.

Witnesses:

HENRY M. WELLS, FREDERICK W. TAYLOR,

I do not claim any of these'\ 

